Polad Hashimov

Later, in January 2022, Hashimov's mother, Samaya Hashimova, alleged that Karim Valiyev, who was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in July 2021, had her son killed in order to get the position instead of him. She also blamed Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov.

In August 2020, a street was named after Hashimov in his native Vandam, in Gabala District, and in January 2021, in Guba, and in Keban, Elazığ, Turkey. A park bearing his name was opened in the Osmangazi District of Bursa, Turkey, on 28 October. On May 7, 2021, the street in Baku, originally named after Pavel Nakhimov, was named after Polad Hashimov.

Throughout his military career, Hashimov received numerous promotions and was awarded more than twelve times, including jubilee and other medals. In April 2021, Iranian embassy in Azerbaijan visited Hashimov's family and posthumously awarded Hashimov with the World Sacrifice Award named after Qasem Soleimani. Despite this, Hashimov's mother refused to take this award.

Hashimov was a popular military figure who took part in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and the Four-Day War. He was awarded numerous honours during his military career, including jubilee and other medals. He commanded the Azerbaijani forces during the border clashes with Armenia in July 2020 and was killed on the morning of 14 July while fighting on the front-line in the Tovuz District of Azerbaijan. His death sparked violent protests throughout the country calling for war with Armenia, a prelude to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, which began in September of the same year. He was awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan posthumously in December 2020.

On 12 July 2020, skirmishes erupted on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, mainly in the Tavush Province of Armenia and the Tovuz District of Azerbaijan.

In August 2020, two books dedicated to Hashimov were published. Our Steel General (Azerbaijani: Polad Generalımız) was published by Ganun Nashriyyati. The second, written by Hadaf Nashrlari and XAN Nashriyyati, General Polad Hashimov in Memories (Azerbaijani: General Polad Həşimov xatirələrdə), contains the recollections of Hashimov's mother, wife, daughter, as well as his colleagues.

Hashimov was declared a National Hero of Azerbaijan in December 2020, along with Ilgar Mirzayev and Ibad Huseynov, by the decree of President Aliyev.

After his death, the Azerbaijani singer Chingiz Mustafayev, who represented Azerbaijan in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, released a song titled I'm Like My Homeland (Azerbaijani: Vətənim Kimiyəm), dedicated to Hashimov and the other fallen soldiers of the border clashes. On 22 August 2020, Azerbaijani military singer Shamistan Alizamanli released a song titled My Pasha, Hey! (Azerbaijani: Paşam, hey!) dedicated to Hashimov. On 24 August, a documentary titled 7 Moments of Polad (Azerbaijani: Poladın 7 anı) dedicated to the life of Hashimov and directed by Ruslan Hussein was presented on Ictimai TV.

In 2017, Hashimov was appointed Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the 3rd Army Corps. On 24 June 2019, President Aliyev promoted Hashimov to major general, the highest military rank in the Azerbaijani Army. Hashimov became the first Gabalani general since Ismayil bek Kutkashensky, a 19th-century Azerbaijani military officer in the Imperial Russian Army.

On 1 April 2016, heavy fighting broke out between the Azerbaijani and Armenian forces along the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact, known as the Four-Day War. During the clashes, Hashimov served as Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the 1st Army Corps. He commanded the Azerbaijani forces stationed in Tartar District, and during night operations, his forces advanced towards Talish, capturing several strategic locations. He was wounded during the clashes. One of the military posts Hashimov seized near Talış was later renamed "Polad" in his honour. According to Turkish military expert Abdullah Ağar, the Azerbaijani military command ordered Hashimov to withdraw from the territories he had seized during the hostilities. After a ceasefire was reached on the front-line, Hashimov resigned immediately, but the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, intervened and did not allow him to resign.

Hashimov had three siblings, Arzu, Kamala, and Ilham. He married Ophelia Salmanova on 5 September 2003. The couple had three children, Davoud, Teimour, and Aybaniz.

After the signing of the Bishkek Protocol ending the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Hashimov served in military units stationed on the front-line of the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and the self-declared Republic of Artsakh. For many years he was the commander of the military units stationed in Barda, Dashkasan, Haji Zeynalabdin, Murov and Shamkir. From 1995 to 2017, Hashimov held various positions, from motorised rifle squadron commander to military unit commander. He was promoted to major in 2003, and to lieutenant colonel in 2009.

Despite intending to be a lawyer, Hashimov decided instead to pursue a military career in 1992 during the height of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. With his father's consent, he submitted his documents and was accepted to the Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School in August of that year. He graduated in 1995 with a degree in motorised infantry. In 1994, he was sent by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence to a three-month training course at the Tuzla Infantry School in Istanbul, Turkey. In July 2014, he entered the Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy named after Heydar Aliyev, and in 2016, received a master's degree in military leadership.

In November 1992, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Hashimov, who was training with the 702nd Motorised Rifle Brigade, fought in the successful defence of the villages of Marzili and Novruzlu in the Aghdam District of Azerbaijan. He participated in Operation Murovdagh in February 1994. He was involved in clashes with Armenian forces in the Guzgu, Koroghlu, and Omar military posts in the Murov range.

Hashimov is the first and only general of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces to be killed during battle. Before him, Ismat Gayibov, the first Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan, and Mahammad Asadov, a major general in the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs, were killed in November 1991 when the Mil Mi-8 helicopter they were in was shot down by Armenian forces.

Hashimov is the first and only general of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces to be killed during military operations. Before him, Ismat Gayibov, the first Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan, and Mahammad Asadov, major general in the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs, were killed in November 1991 when the Mil Mi-8 helicopter they were in was shot down by Armenian forces.

Hashimov was admitted to secondary school No. 28 in Sumgayit in 1982, and then to Secondary School No. 33 after its construction in 1986. In 1988, another educational institution, Secondary School No. 34, named after Mikayil Mushfig, was built in the area and Hashimov continued his education there graduating in 1992. Hashimov excelled in mathematics during his secondary education.

Polad Israyil oghlu Hashimov (Azerbaijani: Polad İsrayıl oğlu Həşimov; 2 January 1975 – 14 July 2020) was an Azerbaijani military officer, National Hero of Azerbaijan and a major general who served as the Deputy Commander and the Chief of Staff of the 3rd Army Corps of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

Polad Israyil oglu Hashimov was born on 2 January 1975, in Vandam, Gutgashen District (modern-day Gabala District) of the Azerbaijani SSR, then part of the Soviet Union. His father, Israyil, was a metallurgist and worked at an aluminum plant in Sumgayit, first as an engineer, then as a shift supervisor and manager. He died in 2005 after a lengthy illness. His mother, Samaya, worked at the same plant. Hashimov's grandfather, Mikayil, a World War II veteran, named him "Polad"—steel in Azerbaijani. In July 1976, when Hashimov was six months old, his family moved to Sumgayit and settled in the city's 13th micro-district.